Saturday, November 23, 2013

A few months back I had the special honor of being a guest at The Cottage Mama blog. There I shared a free pattern and tutorial for an apple lunch box. With the holiday season approaching I thought an adorable apple lunch box would make a great gift. So today I am bringing it home!

I also think that this would make a sweet apple purse!

*Modifications to make an apple purse are below the lunch box tutorial.*

This tutorial will guide you through, step by step, how you can make your own insulated apple lunch box. It features a cotton laminate fabric for the exterior (I found this cute Greenhouse Laminate by Erin McMorris for Free Spirit at QuiltHome.com), a durable Peltex interfacing, an Insul-Bright thermal insulation layer, and a nylon lining (I prefer Rip-Stop nylon) that is easy to wipe clean.

Print pattern at 100% (no scaling) and cut out all pieces as directed. *Tip: Cut apple piece from Peltex first an you will have a durable shape to trace onto other fabrics.

Lay your Peltex apple piece, fusible side down, over your laminate, right side down, and fuse together with iron. Repeat for other side.

With laminate side of apple still facing down, lay Insul-Bright on
top with shiny side up. Then lay your nylon lining over those and
align all layers.

*Tip: Holes in laminate and nylon will be visible. "Pin" layers together with paper clips to avoid unnecessary holes. Other common household items suitable to "pin" with include hair clips, bag clips, and fridge clips.

Edge stitch to secure all layers together. Repeat for other side.

Set apple shaped pieces aside. We will now assemble the top and zipper panels. Start with your 3" wide zipper panels first. Layer your pieces over each other and align one long raw edge in this order: Insul-Bright shiny side up, nylon lining, zipper right side up, laminate right side down. Sew together with 1/2" seam allowance.

Trim seam allowance to 1/4" with out clipping through zipper. Fold layers away from zipper and topstitch 1/4" away from zipper.

Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the 1.5" zipper panels. *Tip: If using a zipper that is longer than your panels you can unzip it all the way to the end before sewing. This will place your zipper pull out of the way when attaching panels.

If you used a longer zipper, secure it near the panels short edge and trim excess.

Align your top panel pieces over one short edge of your zipper panel in this order: Insul-bright shiny side up, nylon lining, zipper panel, laminate right side down. Sew together using 1/2" seam allowance. Trim seam allowance to 1/4".

Fold top panel pieces away from zippered panel and topstitch in place.

Align raw edge of top laminate panel with raw edge of zipper panel with right sides together. Your zipper panel should now be folded to make a loop with the top panel. Push the folded/looped end to the side and pull your Insul-Bright and nylon lining layers of the top panel up to match raw edges. Stitch raw edges with 1/2" seam allowance. Trim seam allowance back to 1/4".

Flip panels so all layers are right side out. Topstitch the top panel 1/4" from seam we just made.

Align cording down center of one Nylon webbing strip.

Place second webbing strip over the top, sandwiching the webbing between. Stitch near ends of cording to hold in place. Then stitch along the long edges. Gently melt the unfinished ends to prevent fraying. This can be done by holding ends just above the flame of a candle or lighter (do NOT touch flame to webbing).

Attach the handle near the top panel seams.

Your top and zipper panels are complete! Now let's start putting it all together.

To find center of top panel fold it in half lengthwise, matching seams where they attach to zipper panel. Mark center point on both raw edges.

Align center point of top panel with top center of apple shaped piece with nylon sides together. Pin in place. Continue to pin all the way around apple piece. Baste together using scant 1/4' seam allowance.

Repeat for the other side.

Set aside the lunch box. Press bias strips to make tape as follows: fold in half lengthwise and press, open up fold and turn long raw edges in to meet at center and press, fold in half lengthwise again and press.

Open up folds at short ends and align with right sides together. Sew
together using 1/4" seam allowance. Press seam open. You should now have a
continuous bias tape loop.

Repeat steps 18 and 19 for other bias strip.

Place bias tape over raw edges of lunchbox. You should have to
stretch it slightly. This will help it lay flat around the curves. Sew
bias tape in place. Repeat for the other side.

**Optional** To make leaf shaped zipper pull simply lay leaf pieces over each other, right sides together, aligning all edges. Sew together with 1/4" seam allowance, leaving opening on one flat side of leaf for turning. Trim seam allowance to 1/8". Turn leaf right side out, fold under opening, and press. Topstitch close to edge around entire leaf.

Loop stem through zipper pull. Fold end under 3/8" and then fold another 3/8" and secure to stem

All done. Hooray! Time to start packing a lunch because you now have a cute new lunch box!

***Apple Purse***

To make this lunchbox into a purse it just requires a few small modifications. The main differences are - 1. The zipper and flat panels are reversed in position and length (The zipper will be where the flat panel is in the lunchbox, and the flat panel will be where the zipper is.); 2. The zipper panels are equal in width on the purse; and 3. Instead of the small handle the purse has a shoulder strap.

To make the strap fold and press in half lengthwise. Open your fold and turn long raw edges to center fold and press. Fold back in half lengthwise and press again. Edgestitch 1/8" on both long sides. Your strap is ready.

Assemble purse following lunchbox tutorial with the following differences:

*When attaching flat panel to zipper panel on short ends place one end of shoulder strap centered and sandwiched between the right sides of panels. Do the same thing for the other end of the shoulder strap and panels.

*Center zipper at top of apple shape (rather than the flat panel as is in the lunchbox) and attach in the same manner as lunchbox tutorial.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The beautiful early fall weather lasted longer than expected this year. Warm, sunny days; cold crisp nights; leaves falling all around in a multitude of colors - It was wondeful! Then BAM! The cold, dreary days of autumn took over and seem to be holding the sun hostage. Bleh! That is when I quickly realized I have almost no pants that fit my little bean sprout anymore...Play Pants to the rescue!

These pants were a great fix for my problem of unpreparedness. The Play Pants is a newly released pattern from Kikoi Patterns. It is an easy sew pattern, in sizes 2 - 9 years, made for knit fabrics.

Keilana most often wears a size 5 but she is growing faster than I can keep up with (as if this post wasn't already proof of that). So I chose to make a size 6 for these.

I made them from some super soft hemp and organic cotton blend french terry. It is so soft actually that I wonder if there is some bamboo in it. I have had it forever and honestly don't remember the exact fiber content. It also has a lovely weight, which is why I chose to use it. It is kinda heavy, but not too thick, so it isn't bulky.

Another bonus - I was able to use up some tiny knit scraps that I had no idea what I was going to use for. Keilana likes to look in the pocket to see what desserts she can find on the fabric. Fun! :)

These are super quick and very easy to sew up. I generally use my serger with knits even though I know it won't fray. I just like the serged finish. But I actually made these entire pants without touching my serger once. This fabric presses nicely so I had no problem.

As the name implies, these are a great play pant - quick to sew up and allow for comfort and movement. I have my doubts as to whether the off white color will last long, but I have some dye in my crafty mama arsenal if they don't. Ha!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I was looong overdue for some boy sewing. So, when I was asked to sew up the Jarvis Top I was super excited to oblige. In fact, I made two!

The Jarvis Top was just released, along with the Ryder Trousers, and is on sale for 25% 'til Thursday at midnight (PST). The sale is for all the patterns in Made It's Craftsy store, woohoo! How I wish I could make them all...perhaps in time ;)

What stood out to me right away about the Jarvis Top was the clean lines and the modern look. It was love at first sight! Made It Patterns is definitely a fashion forward designer!

The pattern can be made with short or long sleeves. I couldn't decide,
so for Jonas I kinda made both. I cut the guitar print to a short
sleeve length. The black fabric I cut at the cut from one inch above the
short sleeve mark down to the wrist. Then I just sewed them up together
to make a faux layered look. Both fabrics are a cotton interlock knit.

I was sold on the Jarvis Top right away with the asymmetrical yoke. The front of the shirt is all one piece with the yoke and button placket inserted. I have to admit, I wasn't sure how nicely I would be able to pull this off, but the instructions were very clear. And, well, you be the judge...

Do you love it as much as I do?! The yoke and collar lines are clean and yummy, just like the photo in the pattern. I love the technique the pattern follows to achieve this look. It is easier than you'd think!

However, photographing these two boys together...not so easy! See the look on their face in the photo above? I am not even going to show you the series of photos that ensued after this one! Bah, brothers...

They are so cute! But when I ask Jonas to put his arm around Ethan and pretend they are friends the following picture resulted.

That is SO not what I meant by "put your arm around him"!

For Ethan's shirt I played around with the pattern a bit more.

Ethan is on the upper end of the size range (2-10 year), but instead of trying to make it wider for his thick chest I went with the slimmer look instead. It goes well with the modern feel. And he just loves it! He was begging to wear it to school today. (Hooray for the win!)

I split the front of the shirt and made part with a guitar print and part in a solid red. Then I made the long sleeves from the same red fabric. Both of these are a cotton jersey blend fabric. Actually, the gray yoke and collar is a cotton jersey blend too on this one.

This is an intermediate level pattern. To make it you must have knowledge of sewing with knits and be able to sew button holes. Don't let the yoke and placket keep you away. Even if you have never made them before I feel you should be able to follow along with the well written directions.

^^^ That was alittle spy action for you! ^^^ :)

Okay, back to the pattern. I was able to print the pattern up without problem. Taping it together was almost effortless! Seriously, the lines matched up perfectly. You have to love when this happens! And the fit is great. I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone who has a boy in the size range.

These last photos are just for fun! I am just so happy the shoot worked out today.

I love these boys...even when they attempt to corrupt the pictures with obnoxious looks. Ha!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Please check out Made It Patterns on Facebook and Craftsy! I look forward to seeing more of these awesome patterns!